Queenie Cooks: Herbed Quinoa with Roasted Acorn Squash

[From Miya: Hi friends! We have a huge treat in store for you today (didn't I tell you we would?). Please give your warmest welcome to my dear, dear friend Meg, who is a fantastic cook, great writer, and amazing friend. Meg's blog and photography have been featured by Food52, Serious Eats, Apartment Therapy and The Internet Food Association. And her apartment is amazing. Here was her entry into Apartment Therapy's Small Cool contest in 2009 (do you like the pics? Meg plied me with pastries, and I took them for her). To top it all off, she mixes a mean Manhattan. Do you adore her already? I told you you would!
Meg will be joining us every two weeks to share a special, just for You + ME*, recipe with us. We've asked her to skew fairly healthy and vegetarian, which she does exceptionally well, but you would all be remiss not to check out the rest of her recipes over at Queenie Takes Manhattan. So without further ado, here is my dear friend Meg, giving us some ridiculous dinner inspiration.]
Hey, You + ME* readers! I cannot tell you how excited I am to be part of Miya & Elisabeth's community of contributors. I think we're going to have loads of delicious adventures together over the coming months, don't you?

When Miya asked me to contribute to You + ME* Equals, I knew exactly what I wanted to share with you guys. I'd been thinking for a few weeks about how the cooler weather makes me crave the nutty satisfaction of whole grains and the richness of roasted vegetables. As a result, I'd been dreaming about a mash-up of herbed quinoa and roasted squash.

Quinoa is a seed, similar to a grain. It's teeny and round and has a little white membrane thing that sounds gross, but really isn't. Thanks to its remarkable nutritional content, it's one of the oldest cultivated crops on earth, even though it never really took off in Europe (due, in possible part, to the naturally bitter coating you have to rinse off before cooking). It has an extremely high protein content and is naturally gluten-free. Just those two things alone pretty much explain its recent surge in popularity.

But, most importantly, it's also delicious. Quinoa is, as I mentioned, extremely nutty in flavor, and cooks up light and fluffy - but can also take on a creamy, risotto-like quality if cooked slowly and gently. Really, it's a great chameleon, perfect for pairing with braised dishes or tossing into salads.

The recipe I'm sharing with you today takes advantage of that warm flavor and ease of cooking. Like any other grain, quinoa does a bit better when you hit it with a little herbal goodness, so I threw in sage (also a natural partner to the squash) and thyme (since, um, I have it growing on my windowsill). You might think about rosemary here, or even a shower of fresh chives at the end. (In my opinion, chives are never a mistake.)

As for the squash, well, how can you celebrate the arrival of fall without paying tribute to its signature vegetable? This recipe would work equally well with butternut squash, or even pumpkin - whatever's available at your local farmers' market is what's best. Roasting squash is one of the easiest things you can ever do, and the slightly smooshy texture of the finished product plays wonderfully against the fluffy quinoa.

And so, without further ado, here goes! I hope you enjoy the recipe, and I can't wait to see you back here in two weeks' time!

Herbed Quinoa with Roasted Acorn Squash

1 small corn squash, about 1 pound
Olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
6 sage leaves
1 small shallot, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed one or twice in cold water
1/4 cup white wine
1 cup water or vegetable stock
2 or 3 sprigs thyme
1/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Cover a small cookie sheet in aluminum foil.

Slice the stem off of the squash and slice it in half, lengthwise. Use a large spoon to scoop out the seeds. Slice the halves into three wedges each, and place the wedges on the baking sheet. Drizzle the squash with olive oil and sprinkle with about 1/2 teaspoon of salt and a healthy amount of pepper. Place a single sage leaf in the center of each wedge.

Bake the squash in the preheated oven until tender, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, in a 2-4 quart saucepan, heat about 1 1/2 teaspoons of the olive oil over medium heat. Once hot, add the shallots and garlic and saute for about two minutes, until the shallot is translucent and the garlic is fragrant.

Add the quinoa to the pot and lightly salt it. Toast the quinoa in the oil and shallots for a couple of minutes, until it smells nutty. Add the wine to the pan and stir, mixing it well into the quinoa. Allow the mixture to cook down for a minute or so, then add the water or stock.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and cover the pan, cooking the quinoa at a simmer. Continue to cook for 10-15 minutes, or until the membranes begin to pull away from the grains.

Once the squash is done (you can tell by poking it with a knife; if the knife slides right on in, the squash is ready), take it out of the oven and set it aside until it is cool enough to handle with your hands. Cut the flesh away from the peel and slice it into 1-inch chunks. Place it (and the roasted sage leaves) in a large bowl. Add the leaves from the sprigs of thyme.

As soon as the quinoa is done cooking, add it (hot) to the squash, along with a healthy drizzle of olive oil and a good amount of salt and pepper. Toss everything together until well-mixed, then mix in the parmesan. To serve, divide between plates and top with a bit more cheese. The salad can be served warm or at room temperature.

Serves two as a main course and four as a side.

Comments

[elisabeth]

Looks delicious, Meg! We're so glad to have you here!